Our neighborhood just got unpredictable again

This part of the world has always been full of surprises. The most recent came on Friday afternoon when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the United States and Israel, and said he was calling off a planned visit to Washington. This is an extremely important - if not crucial - development that will certainly have an impact on Greek-Turkish relations, but also on the security architecture in the East Mediterranean.

Athens had been banking on a period of tranquility in the Aegean that was based on the admission that Ankara needed "calm waters" in its relationship with the US in its bid to secure the upgrade and purchase of new F-16 fighter jets. The manner in which this calm in Greek-Turkish relations would be maintained had been agreed and forged over a significant period of time by the American ambassadors in Athens and Ankara. Berlin also played a...